CHOSUN ILBO (Also in KOREA HERALD)
May 31 “N.Korea Pilfering Leftovers from Kaesong Complex”
The North Korean Army is reduced to pilfering leftover textiles from factories in the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex and selling them to China, Radio Free Asia reported Thursday. The industrial park was shut down last month after North Korea closed the border amid rising tensions. RFA quoted a North Korean source in the Chinese border city of Dandong as saying the North Korean Army is clandestinely exporting tons of leftover textiles from garment factories in the industrial park.
YONHAP (Also in GLOBAL POST)
May 31 “Number of N. Korean mobile phone users tops 2 mln: report”
The number of mobile phone owners in North Korea has exceeded the 2 million level, a report said Friday, indicating that one out of every 12 North Korean citizens are using wireless telephone services. Washington-based Radio Free Asia reported the information, citing a statement released on Wednesday by Naguib Sawiris, the chairman of Orascom Telecom Holding.
SHANGHAIIST
May 30 “Finally! China's supreme court orders harsher sentencing for child abusers”
In the past 20 days, Chinese media outlets have exposed seven cases of school-aged children being sexually molested or physically abused, with teachers or government officials the perpetrators in more than one of said incidents. … In a Radio Free Asia report, one lawyer stated that some Chinese officials hold "a superstitious belief that sex with a virgin could boost their chances of promotion," and that "a lot of officials do this as a pastime".
FCPA Blog
May 30 “Smithfield deal may make it safe to order the moo shu pork”
If it goes through, Shuanghui International's $4.7 billion bid to take over Smithfield Food Inc., the U.S.'s leading pork producer, would be the biggest-ever acquisition of a U.S. firm by a Chinese company. … Last month, Radio Free Asia posted a video of an illegal nighttime slaughterhouse in Shenzhen. In the video, a restaurant owner in the city tells RFA, "When a slaughterhouse buys pork, some pigs are still alive. Others are already dead. They're not all dead. The dead ones are cheaper."
SHANGHAIIST
May 27 “Leizhou principal confesses to raping two primary school students”
In the wake of a Hainan sex abuse scandal involving six elementary school girls and their principal reported earlier this month, another primary school principal in Leizhou has allegedly turned himself in for raping two of his female students, after being accused by the girls' parents. … China's laws surrounding rape are often seen as "weak" and are widely criticized, especially as new underage sex abuse scandals surface in the media. According to Radio Free Asia: Before 1997, sex with a person under 14 was deemed to be rape, regardless of whether or not consent was given, as children of that age were deemed incapable of giving consent.
CAMBODIA DAILY
May 27 “Kem Sokha Says S-21 Was Vietnamese Conspiracy”
Survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime’s Tuol Sleng prison, which oversaw the killing of more than 12,000 men, women and children, have demanded that Kem Sokha, acting president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), apologize for comments he made recently denying the facility’s bloody history. … However, in an interview he gave to Radio Free Asia on Saturday, Mr. Sokha appears to confirm having made the comments.“This was what I have learned from history,” he said. “I have learned that the Khmer Rouge had some connections with the Vietnamese. Therefore, this is just my idea, which is not an accusation. But I would like to say sorry if my ideas are different from others.”
GLOBAL POST
May 25 “Muslims given a two-child limit in Myanmar's Rakhine state”
Local authorities in Myanmar's Rakhine state have decided to impose a two-child policy on Muslim residents of the townships of Buthidaung and Maundaw, in a measure they claim will help defuse bloody tension between Rohingyas and Buddhists. … It's unclear how the measure will be enforced, notes Radio Free Asia, which noted that the decision to impose the limit was made after a governmental panel convened to discuss techniques for quelling the sectarian violence. "The birth rates for Muslim families in this area are too high,” said Myaing to RFA’s Myanmar Service. “The Rakhine inquiry commission advised controlling the birth rate in its report, and we will follow their advice,” he added.
TIBETAN REVIEW
May 25 “Open welcome marks jailed Tibetan protester’s release”
Relatives and friends of a Tibetan jailed last year for taking part in a protest in Gepasumdo (or Thunte, Chinese: Tongde) County of Tsolho (Chinese: Hainan) Prefecture, Qinghai Province, were able to publicly hold a ceremonial welcome for him after completing his jail term, apparently without attracting immediate Chinese crackdown, according to a Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) report May 23. Dondrub, 30, jailed for taking part in a Mar 18, 2012 demonstration against Chinese rule was freed on May 20, the report said.
TIBETAN REVIEW
May 24 “China democracy activists warned off Tiananmen commemoration”
As June 4, the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary, approaches near, democracy activists in the country’s southern city of Guangzhou have sought permission to hold a memorial march, only to be met with threats from the authorities. No one knows how many were killed in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s armoured tank onslaught on the peaceful student-led demonstration in the country’s capital in the night of Jun 3-4, 1989; discussing the event still remains a political taboo. Activists Xu Xiangrong, Li Weiguo, and Li Wensheng were threatened by officers at the city's Yuexiu district police station after they went to apply for a demonstration permit on May 22 to mark the Jun 4 anniversary, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) May 22.
GUARDIAN
May 23 “Tibetan rights groups criticise China over monk's five-year jail term”
Tibetan rights groups have reacted with outrage after Chinese authorities sentenced a Tibetan monk to five years in prison for criticising the Chinese government. Gartse Jigme, 36, was sentenced on 14 May by a county court in Malho, a prefecture in western Qinghai province bordering the Tibetan autonomous region. Jigme, a monk at Gartse monastery in the mostly Tibetan county of Rebkong, has been a writer since 1999, according to rights groups. He has been in detention since 1 January. "The distribution of his book Courage of the King was cited as a reason for his detention," an unnamed source told Radio Free Asia. The book covers topics Tibetans are not allowed to openly discuss, such as the Dalai Lama, protests, and self-immolation.
SHANGHAIIST
May 23 “Watch: Radio Free Asia reports on China's toxic soil”
In part three of an ongoing series examining food production in China, Radio Free Asia examines the problem of toxic soil, which can poison plants and produce before it’s even harvested.
TIBETAN REVIEW (Also in CHINA DIGITAL TIMES)
May 19 “China launches fifth TV propaganda on Tibet self-immolations”
China Central Television (CCTV), China’s state television broadcast service, aired on May 16 evening a prime time news feature blaming what it calls the “Dalai clique” and foreign media for encouraging a spate of self-immolations in Tibet under its rule. … The documentary claims that the self-immolations that had taken place in Tibet were guided by a manual on the subject written by one Lhamo Je. It describes him as a two-term former member in the parliament of the “Dalai clique” and claims that he still has an important position in its "educational system." … The CCTV documentary also accuses the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia of constantly hyping the self-immolation incidents, thereby perpetuating such fiery actions.
TIBETAN REVIEW
May 18 “China jails disappeared Tibetan monk writer for five years”
For writing a book which lamented China’s misrule and persecutions in Tibet, a popular Tibetan monk author has been jailed for five years in Tsekhog (Chinese: Zeku) County of Qinghai Province on May 14, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) May 16, citing local Tibetan sources. The report said Gartse Jigme, 36, was sentenced at a secret trial for his book “Courage of the King” which was first published in 2008.
DIPLOMAT
May 17 “North Korea Pushes Ahead on Agricultural Reforms”
Despite the recent crisis on the Korean Peninsula, Kim Jong-Un appears intent on pushing through with the agricultural reforms adopted last year. Although the effort is likely genuine, its success is unlikely. … Then, in April, Radio Free Asia, citing sources inside the country, reported that in parts of North Korea farmers were indeed being told they will be able to keep up to 30 percent of their harvests this year.
SHANGHAIIST
May 17 “Unsurprising study reveals nepotism gives recent graduates a boost in the job market”
The China Data Center at Tsinghua University recently published a study revealing that new graduates who happen to be the children of Communist Party officials have a substantial advantage compared to their classmates. Starting salaries for these lucky few are nearly 15 percent higher than those of their peers who have no filial government connections. … This advantage is often unabashedly blatant said web editor and Chongqing resident Xiang Shaowei in an interview with Radio Free Asia: "If I were the son of official parents, even if I had sat a written test honestly and done my best, by the time I got to interview, I would have had a lot of points added to my final score, to give my parents face."
QUARTZ
May 17 “Chinese businesswoman sentenced to death for Ponzi scheme”
A court in China’s Zhejiang province has sentenced a businesswoman to death for fraud and “illegal fund-raising,” after she racked up 428 million yuan ($69.7 million) in trading losses. … The proportion of corrupt officials and state-owned enterprise executives who get the death penalty is extremely low, while the rate among private entrepreneurs is extremely high,” Shanghai-based lawyer Li Honghua told Radio Free Asia.
TIBETAN REVIEW
May 17 “Protesting Tibetans beaten, held in disputed land deal”
Chinese police used violence in Luchu (Chinese: Luqu) County of Gansu Province on May 12 to throw out or detain protesting Tibetans from a parcel of land they had bought, claiming the property belonged to the government and the transaction was illegal, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) May 15. It was not clear whom the apparently large number of Tibetans had bought the land from and whether any action was being initiated against the sellers.
GULF NEWS
May 17 “Blue Dragon founder sees red over human trafficking”
Thu’s childhood innocence was stolen in a gust of false promises and a web of words. Tempting tales of bright lights and big cities were used by human traffickers to cunningly captivate the shy teenager before plucking her from her familiar surroundings of Dien Bien province in Vietnam to take her to the vast and unfamiliar capital Ho Chi Minh City. … In an interview with Radio Free Asia, Camsa co-founder Nguyen Dinh Thang said most of the trafficked young women are forced into slave labour on the back of employment offers. One rescued girl, Be Huong, added that she made the risky decision in pursuit of a better life and had been easily duped by the offer of a three-month stint in a Moscow restaurant.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
May 16 “Vietnam hands lengthy jail sentences to two patriotic, anti-Chinese activists”
A Vietnamese court has sentenced two young activists to lengthy prison sentences for distributing anti-Chinese leaflets in Ho Chi Minh City. … Their lawyer had petitioned the prosecution to drop the charges, arguing that the two were only being patriotic, Radio Free Asia reported earlier.
TIBETAN REVIEW
May 16 “Chinese police beat, kill Tibetan monk for possessing Dalai Lama videos”
Chinese police in Chamdo (Chinese: Changdu) County of Tibet Autonomous Region have beaten a Tibetan Buddhist monk to death in Apr 2013 after they arrested him for possessing two videos of speeches by the Dalai Lama, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) May 14.
HANKYOREH
Chinese authorities notified North Korea of plans to resume food aid before the Bank of China closed its account with North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB), a diplomatic source in Beijing said. With China also supplying fertilizer aid, the situation suggests that while Seoul and Washington are both working to bring it on board with their pressure offensive against Pyongyang, Beijing is sticking to a dual approach using the carrot as well as the stick in its dealings with North Korea. … On May 15, the US network Radio Free Asia reported on China’s plans to soon add food aid on top of the large amounts of fertilizer it has recently been supplying to North Korea. Sources within North Korea were quoted as saying that the estimated 200,000 tons of fertilizer provided late last month was larger than last year, and delivered more quickly.
NEW TANG DYNASTY TELEVISION
May 14 “Chinese Rights Lawyers Beaten and Detained for Visiting ‘Black Jail’”
Several prominent Chinese rights lawyers were beaten and detained as they tried to visit a “black jail” on Monday. Li Heping, a rights lawyer from Beijing, told Radio Free Asia he was on the phone with one of the lawyers, Tang Tianhao, while security guards from the unofficial detention center attacked them. Li said the group also included rights lawyers Tang Jitian and Jiang Tianyong.
HONG KONG ORIENTAL DAILY
May 11 “Eight Uyghur Students Arrested Prior to the Anniversary of the Terrorist Attack in Xinjiang”
Radio Free Asia reported that according to the disclose of overseas websites, at least eight Uighur students of Tarim University recently were taken away by public security department in Alar City. Two students were identified. One student is Alimujiang, studying computer science, and the other student is called who entered the university in 2008. There was also another man who was arrested due to his overseas connections. The report mentioned that the Tarim University confirmed that some students were arrested.
SHANGHAIIST
May 10 “Watch: 20 million taps (and not a drop to drink)”
What with the recent news about bottled water not being up to (post 1950s) standards, it'd be nice to be able to trust what came out of the taps (since quite a lot of it is findings its way into those bottles). RFA examines the problems China's regulators have in making the water fit to drink (like, avoiding having pigs and bodies in it).
ASIA NEWS
May 9 “Freed in 2012, Burmese activist back in jail for ‘accusing’ police”
The Burmese authorities have sent a former political prisoner, freed under the recent presidential amnesty, back to jail. This is the first case of a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned by the military dictatorship, to be put back in prison for a similar offense since reformist Thein Sein became leader of Myanmar in 2011. … Claiming innocence, he refused to pay the sum calling it "unjust" and was jailed. According to his brother Khin Maung Htwe, in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA), while he was in prison he received notification that the previous sentence of 2011 was to be enforced, in which he had been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Now, he will have to serve another six.
NEXT GOV
May 8 “New Tool Could Free Syrian Rebels from Reliance on State Internet”
Syrian rebels may soon have a tool that can effectively nullify what appears to have been a state-imposed Internet blackout this week, the director of the Open Technology Institute said Wednesday.
Sascha Meinrath’s Institute is working on Commotion, a U.S.-government funded project to create “mesh” networks of local Internet connections that don’t rely on external Internet service providers. … Commotion is being funded by grants from the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Radio Free Asia and numerous private foundations.
APPLE DAILY
May 8 “FreeWeibo offers uncensored and anonymous sina weibo search”
… Radio Free Asia reported yesterday that Chinese authorities censored the multiple string search function on a microblogging site in order to control speech in the name of fighting against the Internet rumors.
TIBETAN REVIEW (Also in SHANGHAIIST)
May 5 “Tibetan in frail health after completing 21-years in Chinese prison”
A Tibetan prisoner released by China on May 2 from the high-security Chushul facility near Lhasa city after completing his 21-year jail sentence is in poor health as a result of years of ill-treatment in jail, reported Radio Free Asia (RFA, Washington) May 3. Four policemen escorted a frail Lodroe Gyatso, 52, to his home in Sog (Chinese: Suo) County of Nagchu (Naqu) Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, the following day.
YONHAP (Also in CHOSUN ILBO)
May 4 “U.S. non-profit group to build tuberculosis center in Pyongyang”
A U.S. non-profit group plans to build a tuberculosis treatment training center in Pyongyang by the end of this year, a report said Saturday.Christian Friends of Korea (CFK), the non-governmental organization, will visit the North Korean capital in mid-May and start construction work for the center designed to train medical doctors and researchers for tuberculosis treatment and prevention in the North, the Washington, D.C.-based Radio Free Asia reported. The CFK will send a team of 10 technicians and officials for the project, it said.
PHNOM PENH POST
May 3 “Dip in press freedom rankings”
Cambodia’s press freedom ranking has dropped for the sixth consecutive year, sliding five places to 149th and remaining “not free”, according to US watchdog Freedom House’s 2013 global Freedom of the Press report released on Wednesday. … Last year, the Council of Ministers along with other government ministries called staff members from US-funded Radio Free Asia and Voice of America into a meeting where they were allegedly berated by officials for airing reports that appeared too pro-opposition and anti-government.
FORBES
May 3 “Offshore Tax Havens For Beginners: Pick An Inoffensive Name”
The patrons of offshore tax havens may not think too hard about naming their discreet entities. Most are content to let the lawyers or bankers pick a name. That’s how you end up with plain-vanilla names like Value Addition and Peak Investments in jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands. … But an expensive undertaking in a poor, aid-dependent country with a 2012 GDP estimated at $9.3 billion. However, financing for the railway has reportedly been secured from a New Zealand lender. Which reliable lender would that be? Try Rich Banco. A Lao government official told Radio Free Asia that the Malaysian builder Giant Consolidated Limited (GCL) had arranged a loan from Rich Banco Berhad (a Malay term for LLC) and was preparing to start on an environmental impact study. Now I’m not familiar with this bank. Nor, it seems, is New Zealand’s central bank: Rich Banco is not registered there. All of which tell me that this railway is a long way from completion.
ASIAN CORRESPONDENT
May 3 “Risky business: The dangers of journalism in Cambodia”
World Press Freedom Day celebrates its 20th anniversary today. The UN describes it as an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom, to assess the state of press freedom and to defend the media from attacks on their independence. Cambodia is no exception. … “If you are different from other media organisations, you are considered an opposition supporter. If you work for RFA [Radio Free Asia] or VOD, you always have to consider your safety,” he said. He admits to taking sensitive information out that he knows to be correct, but that is not public knowledge. This is when “it is too critical of the Government”. He insists that he does not change the emphasis of his stories, but he may omit particularly risky information when necessary. “I don’t want to be in jail. I want the freedom to continue writing.”
TAIPEI TIMES
May 3 “‘Free’ local press has limitations: report”
Political polarization, self-censorship and indirect Chinese influence limit the diversity of opinions represented in Taiwan’s mainstream media, according to a new report from the US-based watchdog Freedom House. … In a commentary on the report, Radio Free Asia said that it was “especially troubling” that there had been a noticeable decline in Hong Kong’s media environment, “which may be interpreted as a distressing indicator of things to come.”
CPJ
May 2 “Business as usual under new Chinese leadership”
Almost two months have passed since President Xi Jinping took office. Despite expectations for greater transparency, Beijing continues to try to suppress information on a broad range of issues from human rights to public health. Most recently, Sun Lin, a reporter for the U.S.-based Chinese-language news site Boxun, was detained after he filmed and circulated footage of a campaign in support of a dissident's daughter who was forced out of her school in Hefei city in February. … Guangzhou-based lawyer Sui Muqing told Radio Free Asia that police accused Sun of "blowing up" the campaign and that his footage had "created a bad impression overseas."
YONHAP
May 2 “Last remaining personnel at Kaesong may return home Thursday: source”
The last remaining South Korean personnel at the inter-Korean industrial complex in North Korea may return home on Thursday after settling all necessary accounts on behalf of local companies, a government source said. … Related to the cutting off of ties, a poll conducted by Radio Free Asia (RFA) on North Korean escapees in the South, showed 54 percent wanted the Kaesong complex to be maintained compared to 32 percent who wanted it shut down.
SHANGHAIIST
May 2 “Freedom of the Press 2013: China media environment 'one of the world's most restrictive'”
Freedom House has published its annual index 'Freedom of the Press 2013: A Global Survey of Media Independence' and its verdict on China is not good. … Responding to Freedom House's findings, Libby Liu, President of Radio Free Asia, said: Sadly, there are no surprises here. Especially troubling in this year’s survey is the noticeable decline in Hong Kong’s media environment, which may be interpreted as a distressing indicator of things to come.
FREEDOM TO TINKER (Blog)
May 2 “Collateral Freedom in China”
OpenITP has just released a new report—Collateral Freedom—that studies the state of censorship circumvention tool usage in China today. … The study was conducted by CITP alums David Robinson and me, along with Anne An. It was managed by OpenITP, and supported by Radio Free Asia’s Open Technology Fund. We wrote it primarily for developers and funders of censorship circumvention technology projects, but it is also designed to be accessible for non-technical policymakers who are interested in Internet freedom, and for China specialists without technology background.
COAL GURU
May 1 “China coal production down in Q1”
Radio Free Asia reported that China's coal production has posted a rare decline, raising new questions about the strength of the economy. Production of China's main fuel fell 0.95% in the Q1 from the year-earlier period to 830 million tonne while consumption increased only 1.5%, the China Coal Industry Association said that.
PHAYUL (Also in TIBETAN REVIEW)
May 1 “Religious freedom in Tibet worst in a decade: Report”
A new report has placed China among the “most egregious violators” of religious freedom in the world and has found that religious freedom conditions in Tibet are “worse now than at any time over the past decade.” … The report further recommends the US to “offer publicly to facilitate meetings between Chinese officials and envoys of the Dalai Lama” and ensure “continued availability of funds to maintain appropriate Tibetan and Uighur language broadcasting through the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.”
HERITAGE FOUNDATION
May 1 “Ed Royce Interview: The Enduring Legacy of America’s Commitment to Asia”
… My hope has always been that Radio Free Asia—and I had the legislation to make that permanent—which broadcasts into countries that don’t otherwise have a free press—will provide that opportunity for a surrogate free press. But what’s important here is that the voices need to be reporters who are recently from that country. We have also expanded this into North Korea in some major ways. … I think the evolution in terms of human rights is partly dependent upon what we do to put information into China about what’s happening on the ground in real time in order to expose these types of abuses. That is best done through Radio Free Asia, but it is also done through other legislation that we have enacted in which we have an institution here on the Hill which elevates human rights and gets that information out into the international press. So it’s partly getting the information out into the international press. It’s partly through the Internet, giving the information to press inside China. But it’s also partly Radio Free Asia broadcasting this dialogue about these issues.
SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
May 1 “China's new mental health law to make it harder for authorities to silence petitioners”
The director of Xinjiang's largest mental health institution has welcomed a new law, which went into effect on Wednesday, banning involuntary inpatient treatment for many people deemed mentally ill. … In March, a gruesome murder of a seven-year-old Uygur boy by a Chinese man has caused tensions among ethnic communities in the Turpan prefecture east of Urumqi. The man had been declared mentally ill to prevent ethnic revenge attacks, locals told Radio Free Asia.
